Me after being painted by my Middle Schoolers at Prince of Peace
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Politics and Religion
What two words that fill the world we live in with more strife than these two. I remember growing up that these are the two things that you never want to discuss in polite conversation because someone will always disagree. I have always wondered why? Why can't two intelligent people disagree and still have a wonderful conversation in the midst of that disagreement. I guess I'm just strange because my grandmother taught me the finer points of discussion and friendly debate and it saddens me that I am often unable to engage in some great discussions because no one wants to discuss.
We live in a world where some will say if you are Christian you are Republican and the party system has so divided us that one must walk on eggshells before beginning any discussion. It just drives me nuts. I must admit that I am a conservative and that I vote Republican mostly because most of what the Republican party stands for I agree with, but that is not because of my faith. I was a conservative long before I was fully Christian. When I was searching in other areas of spirituality in college the most liberal I became was leaning towards the Libertarian party, which many would argue is not leaning very liberal at all. So what? I had many liberal friends that I disagreed with on some things, but we didn't go around calling each other idiots or skulk off because we didn't agree, we just agreed to disagree and sometimes would have great discussion anyway.
The ability to do that has become less and less because the rhetoric is becoming harsher and harsher. The faith issues and social issues have become so intwined on both sides that it is hard to differentiate and the emotions run so high that they begin to boil over and logic and rationality are lost. Man! I understand that many faith issues are being attacked and we need to stand up for those, but some of the issues like abortion, homosexuality, and the like have been so poorly represented by the media and some of the extremists on both sides it is hard to really meet it out and find some ground to talk on. We are so caught up in our own sinfulness and our own passions on these topics that they have begun for many to replace God and become gods to many.
Our politics have muddled our faith and vice versa. Sometimes I think we just need to sit back, take a breath, and focus on Christ. The greatest threat to our faith are not the issues that we bring to the forefront in politics, but mostly is the growing secularism that is entering into our churches that is appealing with its humanist undertones. The thoughts that should drive our faith is leading us away from it because the focus is no longer on Christ, but on only the issue at hand, only on the neighbor. It is true that we are to love our neighbor, but the love we are to give is the Christ-like love that gives hope and support, not handouts, and patronization. As a church - of the fundamentalist Christian Right to the liberal Protestant - we need to realize that first and foremost we are brothers and sisters joined together in Christ and that should be central and these political issues, though we disagree, should not divide us. And on the other hand all sides need to remember that those issues of the world that we struggle within, the sin that surrounds us, does not define us.
One of my favorite stories of Jesus' ministry is in John 4 when He meets the Samaritan woman at the well. Here is a Jewish man speaking to a Samaritan woman - which was countercultural -, but he was speaking to a Samaritan woman buried in her sin and Jesus does not offer condemnation, but He offers her hope. He offers her a hope that only can be found in Him, in believing in Him, and trusting in Him. Jesus did not say to this woman that her sin was OK, nor did He say to her that she was condemned, but He gave her that free gift offered to all of us - salvation. We are all bound up in sin and no sin is greater than another, but we have the hope in Jesus Christ that He does not want to us to live in that sin and the Holy Spirit fills us and renews our hearts daily. We have and continue to drink of the living water, but often we try and hold it to ourselves. We either close the doors or we open them, but never truly offer the full promise in fear of offending. Since when did sin become judgment instead of a state of being? In Matthew 18 we are to call our brothers and sisters to account when we see that they are not living in the fullness of the promise and when they fall, they may not be kept into leadership, but they are supposed to helped as one that has not known the promise - prayed for and loved and helped to know the fullness of the promise once again. That is grace, to love one so much that when he/she is in pain we fall down weeping and when he/she falls away from the promise our hearts are broken and we are forced to our knees to pray for them, not "AT" them, but for them.
If it wasn't for the love of my wife and the honesty of my heart I may have never have come to know the fullness of the promise of Christ, but when I told her I didn't believe, her heart was broken and she fell to her knees without my knowledge and prayed for me. She prayed for me until I honestly and whole-heartedly accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior and then she prayed for the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit and what was and is even more glorious is I was given the opportunity to pray with her.
I believe to often in the Church in the midst of disagreement we become so caught up that we pray and yell at one another. Instead maybe we should fall to our knees in brokenness and pray for one another and eventually we can learn again how to pray with one another.
These are just some of my thoughts, I hope that they are clear, but if not we can discuss more and I will write more.
Take care,
Your Brother in Christ,
Chris
What two words that fill the world we live in with more strife than these two. I remember growing up that these are the two things that you never want to discuss in polite conversation because someone will always disagree. I have always wondered why? Why can't two intelligent people disagree and still have a wonderful conversation in the midst of that disagreement. I guess I'm just strange because my grandmother taught me the finer points of discussion and friendly debate and it saddens me that I am often unable to engage in some great discussions because no one wants to discuss.
We live in a world where some will say if you are Christian you are Republican and the party system has so divided us that one must walk on eggshells before beginning any discussion. It just drives me nuts. I must admit that I am a conservative and that I vote Republican mostly because most of what the Republican party stands for I agree with, but that is not because of my faith. I was a conservative long before I was fully Christian. When I was searching in other areas of spirituality in college the most liberal I became was leaning towards the Libertarian party, which many would argue is not leaning very liberal at all. So what? I had many liberal friends that I disagreed with on some things, but we didn't go around calling each other idiots or skulk off because we didn't agree, we just agreed to disagree and sometimes would have great discussion anyway.
The ability to do that has become less and less because the rhetoric is becoming harsher and harsher. The faith issues and social issues have become so intwined on both sides that it is hard to differentiate and the emotions run so high that they begin to boil over and logic and rationality are lost. Man! I understand that many faith issues are being attacked and we need to stand up for those, but some of the issues like abortion, homosexuality, and the like have been so poorly represented by the media and some of the extremists on both sides it is hard to really meet it out and find some ground to talk on. We are so caught up in our own sinfulness and our own passions on these topics that they have begun for many to replace God and become gods to many.
Our politics have muddled our faith and vice versa. Sometimes I think we just need to sit back, take a breath, and focus on Christ. The greatest threat to our faith are not the issues that we bring to the forefront in politics, but mostly is the growing secularism that is entering into our churches that is appealing with its humanist undertones. The thoughts that should drive our faith is leading us away from it because the focus is no longer on Christ, but on only the issue at hand, only on the neighbor. It is true that we are to love our neighbor, but the love we are to give is the Christ-like love that gives hope and support, not handouts, and patronization. As a church - of the fundamentalist Christian Right to the liberal Protestant - we need to realize that first and foremost we are brothers and sisters joined together in Christ and that should be central and these political issues, though we disagree, should not divide us. And on the other hand all sides need to remember that those issues of the world that we struggle within, the sin that surrounds us, does not define us.
One of my favorite stories of Jesus' ministry is in John 4 when He meets the Samaritan woman at the well. Here is a Jewish man speaking to a Samaritan woman - which was countercultural -, but he was speaking to a Samaritan woman buried in her sin and Jesus does not offer condemnation, but He offers her hope. He offers her a hope that only can be found in Him, in believing in Him, and trusting in Him. Jesus did not say to this woman that her sin was OK, nor did He say to her that she was condemned, but He gave her that free gift offered to all of us - salvation. We are all bound up in sin and no sin is greater than another, but we have the hope in Jesus Christ that He does not want to us to live in that sin and the Holy Spirit fills us and renews our hearts daily. We have and continue to drink of the living water, but often we try and hold it to ourselves. We either close the doors or we open them, but never truly offer the full promise in fear of offending. Since when did sin become judgment instead of a state of being? In Matthew 18 we are to call our brothers and sisters to account when we see that they are not living in the fullness of the promise and when they fall, they may not be kept into leadership, but they are supposed to helped as one that has not known the promise - prayed for and loved and helped to know the fullness of the promise once again. That is grace, to love one so much that when he/she is in pain we fall down weeping and when he/she falls away from the promise our hearts are broken and we are forced to our knees to pray for them, not "AT" them, but for them.
If it wasn't for the love of my wife and the honesty of my heart I may have never have come to know the fullness of the promise of Christ, but when I told her I didn't believe, her heart was broken and she fell to her knees without my knowledge and prayed for me. She prayed for me until I honestly and whole-heartedly accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior and then she prayed for the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit and what was and is even more glorious is I was given the opportunity to pray with her.
I believe to often in the Church in the midst of disagreement we become so caught up that we pray and yell at one another. Instead maybe we should fall to our knees in brokenness and pray for one another and eventually we can learn again how to pray with one another.
These are just some of my thoughts, I hope that they are clear, but if not we can discuss more and I will write more.
Take care,
Your Brother in Christ,
Chris
I was a born and raised in Grand Forks, ND - graduated from High School from Red River and I went to college at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, but I, Christopher Daniel Byars, am a southern boy at heart. You must understand that I moved to Oklahoma after college and that is where I met my wife and she, in her prayers and her and her mother's example, led me back into a relationship with Christ and I was,what many would call, born-again. It was here and moving to South Florida that I changed and have become a southerner. It is not only a location, but a state of mind and is one that I am proud to identify myself with. It's not that I deny or am ashamed of being from North Dakota - I am proud of where I come from, but I love southern food, sweet tea, and the warmth.
Well, after living for a time in Oklahoma my wife, Dawn, and I had the pleasure and privilege to move further south to Florida - most specifically southern Florida - Ft. Lauderdale and Boca Raton, where we became connected to a great congregation - Advent Lutheran - www.adventelca.org - in Boca Raton. What a wonderful congregation to grow in faith and grow my wife and I did (most especially me). Well, this congregation spiritually fed me, along with those that were praying for me (my wife not being the least of those). Well, through all the prayers and the wonderful people that prepared me I finally gave in to the call of God in my life to ministry and am now in the beginning of my internship year at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul. God has been so great and has provided for my wife and I, blessing us with great friends and great churches to work within. My first two years hear I served part time as a youth and family intern at Prince of Peace in Burnsville, MN working with a great group of Middle Schoolers and now I am serving my pastoral internship at Redeemer Lutheran in Fridley, MN - www.princeofpeaceonline.org & www.redeemerfridley.org.
Well, that is just a brief intro on me and over time I will look to adding more to this to discuss my theological thoughts and views on current issues of the church. I hope you enjoy it.
Well, after living for a time in Oklahoma my wife, Dawn, and I had the pleasure and privilege to move further south to Florida - most specifically southern Florida - Ft. Lauderdale and Boca Raton, where we became connected to a great congregation - Advent Lutheran - www.adventelca.org - in Boca Raton. What a wonderful congregation to grow in faith and grow my wife and I did (most especially me). Well, this congregation spiritually fed me, along with those that were praying for me (my wife not being the least of those). Well, through all the prayers and the wonderful people that prepared me I finally gave in to the call of God in my life to ministry and am now in the beginning of my internship year at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul. God has been so great and has provided for my wife and I, blessing us with great friends and great churches to work within. My first two years hear I served part time as a youth and family intern at Prince of Peace in Burnsville, MN working with a great group of Middle Schoolers and now I am serving my pastoral internship at Redeemer Lutheran in Fridley, MN - www.princeofpeaceonline.org & www.redeemerfridley.org.
Well, that is just a brief intro on me and over time I will look to adding more to this to discuss my theological thoughts and views on current issues of the church. I hope you enjoy it.
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